Dresden to Kiel: Part 1 Great Continental Railway Journeys

I'm embarking on a new railway adventure that will take me

across the heart of Europe.

I'll be using this, my Bradshaw's Continental Railway Guide,

dated 1913, which opened up an exotic world of foreign travel

for the British tourist.

It told travellers where to go, what to see,

and how to navigate the thousands of miles of tracks

crisscrossing the continent.

Now, a century later, I'm using my copy to reveal

an era of great optimism and energy,

where technology, industry, science and the arts were flourishing.

I want to rediscover that lost Europe that, in 1913, could not know

that its way of life would shortly be swept aside by the advent of war.

I'm travelling through Germany,

powerhouse of today's European Union.

100 years ago,

it already looked muscular, industrially and politically.

If I'd been travelling on these tracks in 1913,

I'd be visiting quite a new country.

The Kingdom of Prussia had merged with or absorbed

various principalities and duchies

to form the thoroughly modern industrial state of Germany.

British travellers here a century ago viewed its power

and success with a mixture of admiration, envy and fear.

On this journey, I'll discover how Kaiser Wilhelm II's

militarism threatened Europe's fragile balance of power.

The Navy built two battleships a year.

So, that was really a tremendous fleet.

I'll let Bradshaw's steer me towards Germany's music and culture...

HE SPEAKS GERMAN MENACINGLY

..attempt a 1913 equivalent of a Jane Fonda workout...

-And up and down... Come on!

-NO!

..see model railway making on the grandest of scales...

This is an absolute paradise for model lovers,

for anybody who loves trains.

..and sample Germany's favourite tipple...

What does your expert palate tell you?

-It is perfect, isn't it?

-It's pretty good, isn't it?

My journey starts in Dresden,

close to the border with the Czech Republic,

then heads north on Germany's oldest long-distance railway,

through the eastern states, to the musical city of Leipzig.

Continuing north into Lower Saxony,

I'll travel to Braunschweig

before arriving at the prosperous port of Hamburg.

My journey will end at the home of

Germany's Imperial Navy.

In the years before the First World War,

the British King had the title Duke of Saxony.

My first stop is its capital, Dresden.

My Bradshaw's says it's always been,

"one of the most frequented cities in Germany.

"There are English and American quarters.

"As a city for art, music, and good society,

"Dresden cannot be excelled."

If only I'd known it in those days.

Fortunately, thanks to the railways in 1913,

thousands of British tourists could enjoy this jewel of a city

when it sparkled at its brightest.

Dresden, on the river Elbe,

is the birthplace of Kings, Queens and Consorts.

Queen Victoria's mother was German and in 1840, Victoria married

her German first cousin, Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha,

strengthening further the dynastic bond between Britain and Germany.

As though to demonstrate German engineering prowess,

at the end of the 19th century,

Dresden was given a superb station on two levels -

one with a terminus and one for the through trains.

It was, of course, destroyed by bombs in World War II.

And then for the 45 years that East Germany

was a Soviet satellite state, the station was neglected.

But it was restored at the beginning of the 21st century

and the British architects Foster and Partners

designed a roof, which is Teflon-coated

and covers 30,000 square metres.

Dresden is now home to more than half a million people.

At the time of my Bradshaw's,

the city was as important

a cultural destination as Prague, Paris or Berlin.

Dresden's golden age had been the 18th century,

when its beauty was captured

in a painting by Canaletto,

and it became known as Florence on the Elbe.

Architecture aside,

Dresden is a place of great cultural interest for me.

A favourite opera composer, Richard Wagner,

spent nearly 20 years here.

When my Bradshaw's guide was published in 1913, the world

was celebrating the centenary of Richard Wagner,

so he was born just over 200 years ago in nearby Leipzig.

Now, many people don't like Wagner, they find him long and loud,

and certainly, he's politically controversial, but I am a fan.

I think for his understanding of humanity,

he is one of the greatest artists of history.

I think his most absorbing work is his Ring Cycle of four epic operas,

which took him 26 years to write and which I find extraordinarily deep.

HE SINGS

But Dresden is associated with

one of his very early pieces.

In 1842, Dresden's Semper Opera House invited Wagner

to premiere his grand tragic tale about two rival Roman families -

called Rienzi.

I'm meeting Cosima Curth to find out how it was received.

It was a success, then, Rienzi?

It was a great success.

He didn't like it very much,

he said it was like crying around.

But it made him popular.

Rienzi is more or less very similar to the Grand Opera

like they had at the time.

Wagner then stayed in Dresden after that?

Yeah. First of all, he liked the town,

because it was the first town where he had a lot of success.

And he wanted to present a second opera here a few months later,

which was the Flying Dutchman.

Wagner was also a fine conductor,

likened by his contemporaries to a general in battle.

He was the first who conducted directly to the musicians.

He used to like to use the baton as well.

There's a nice story about it. Sometimes, he forgot it,

so he took a ladle that was given to him by a musician

and he broke the handle and conducted with that.

But even nowadays, we have fantastic conductors,

but they use two sticks to conduct.

But nobody's done it with a ladle.

Never again! Never again!

In Dresden, Wagner briefly helped to orchestrate a military operation.

In a period of revolutions across the continent,

people in Dresden took to the streets.

Wagner became very actively involved in politics, didn't he, in 1849?

What was it that happened?

In the 19th century, Dresden was a really international town,

open to many countries, but the living conditions for the workers

weren't at the highest condition.

That's why Marx published his thesis of a new world,

and this caused a lot of trouble, and started a movement of a revolution,

which started in Dresden in 1849.

And Wagner was drawn in to that, wasn't he?

Yeah. He was a great enthusiast about these changes in living conditions.

He himself was especially interested in the way that musicians were paid.

That maybe the opera shouldn't be owned by the King, but owned by the masses.

The authorities sought help from Prussia, which used a new invention,

railways, to send troops.

And what job was given to Wagner in this revolution?

He had a fantastic job.

He had to climb up to the tower of one of our churches,

and to watch where the army is coming from.

And to announce it to somebody else.

And because it was such a hard job, he asked to send

-a bottle of wine to him.

-And that would help with his work!

Over 200 rebels were killed in the fighting

and although Wagner escaped, a warrant was issued for his arrest.

So that was bye-bye, Dresden for Richard Wagner.

Yeah. Not forever. He came later on back to Dresden

because his wife stayed in Dresden,

and she herself tried to make him

apologise and to be accepted again as another member of society.

She could do so and she succeeded in doing.

The now beautifully restored Lutheran Church of Our Lady -

the Frauenkirche - is symbolic of what the Germans have experienced

since British tourists first followed my guide here.

Destroyed by allied bombing in 1945,

for decades, its ruins constituted

an anti-war memorial.

When East and West Germany were reunified in 1990,

the church was painstakingly reconstructed.

The Frauenkirche manages to be both pretty and overpowering,

which is perhaps why the people of Dresden love it so much.

In 1843, it was the scene of an extraordinary choral work,

with an orchestra of 100 and a choir of 1,100.

The conductor was one Richard Wagner,

the composer was one Richard Wagner,

and the subject was the Last Supper of Christ.

CHORAL SINGING

Today, the Frauenkirche symbolises the rebirth of Dresden

following the destruction of its buildings and population.

DRAMATIC CHORAL MUSIC

Early travellers to Dresden

I'm sure would have remarked

on the romantic look

and feel of the place.

In 1913, the city was in the grip of a health craze -

a new philosophy of well-being called Naturheilkunde,

or naturopathy, had taken hold.

And its mantra was,

a healthy mind in a healthy body.

Like the rest of Europe, Dresden had experienced industrialisation,

bringing with it smoky factory chimneys

and polluted atmosphere and water.

But the fresh air of the hills around the city

became a magnet for international health tourists.

I'm headed for Weisser Hirsch. Bradshaw's tells me,

"It's a well-known health resort

"that's grown from a village in recent years

"and now has villas, hotels and sanatoriums of the highest repute,

"reached by electric car from Dresden."

I wondered what an electric car might be.

It turns out to be a thoroughly original suspended railway.

It's one of the oldest suspension railways in the world.

It climbs 84 metres and is 274 metres long.

In 1913, it also provided an easy escape

for Europe's wealthy

and leisured elite,

intent on improving their physical health and fitness.

Prussian nobility and Russian royalty rubbed shoulders

with well-heeled merchants

and military top brass, actors,

singers and writers.

-Eckhard.

-Hi, Michael!

'I'm meeting author Eckhard Bahr at the once grand and famous

'spa resort Der Weisser Hirsch, now decidedly faded and overgrown.'

I get the impression that at the beginning of the 20th century,

there was a new interest in health.

-That's true.

-Coming up to the top of a hill like this,

people wanted to get away from the industrial cities?

That's right. There was a sense of back to nature

and Dr Lahmann, who was a physician of that time, he combined

this new feeling, this new style of thinking with a great new idea.

So he combined health care and treatments

with a new sense of fresh air,

good portion of diet,

and also, a good sense of humour.

'Dr Heinrich Lahmann, a pioneer of food and health treatments,

'was a man ahead of his time,

'recommending diet and exercise, instead of prescription drugs.'

-The buildings were clearly very impressive.

-That's true.

And la toura sanat... Latin for what?

Nature cures all, is that it?

Yes, nature cures, like water cures, and also fresh air,

baths in the sunshine.

This, I take it, is the bath house?

That's true, yes. The bath house.

There was a female bath for the ladies

and a bath for the gentlemen.

What sort of treatments did Dr Lahmann propose?

They got showers,

extremely pointed to different parts of the body

and then again, different kinds of light,

warm and cold. So it was a strange combination of types.

For instance, they were sitting in a box

and this was full of electric lights.

So they got even small electric shocks.

Then he sent them out to the forest nearly naked.

They wear very small piece of clothes

and they stood still in the surroundings

and listened to the voices of the birds.

I'm sure that would be very good for you!

By 1913, more than 7,000 guests

had visited Der Weisser Hirsch.

And many of them were already wedded

to the latest physical exercise regime.

The Mr Motivator of his day

was famous Danish athlete JP Muller.

His bestselling fitness book, My System,

was designed to turn parlour dandies

into men of iron, in just six weeks.

Fitness instructor Grit Buechner is going to put me through my paces.

This person here is not wearing many clothes.

What was the appropriate clothing for the Muller?

Muller said you need not a lot of clothes.

You go outside and if it's cold or it's hot,

-that's enough to make you harder, if you don't have a lot clothes...

-Mmm.

And so can you show me the system?

Yes, I can show you, but please, not in this clothes.

Sports clothes or less clothes.

I'll go and get less clothes, yeah!

# Keep young and beautiful

# It's your duty to be beautiful... #

Muller's magical formula

consists of 18 different exercises,

practised daily during a 15-minute workout.

Right. I think I'm ready.

-OK, bend, short and sharp.

-Short and sharp.

-13 times.

-What?!

-Yep. Stretch your knee.

-OK.

What's with your leg?

-Look at Ticha. She do it right.

-Hello, Ticha.

'The more you do over the six weeks,

'the stronger and fitter you should become.'

Last three, do as high as you can. One...

Oh! Oh!

-Are you warm?

-Yep, warmed up.

-And you feel it in your legs?

-Oh, gosh, yes.

-We do the next.

-Wow, well, if I get a figure like that,

-it'll be worth it.

-Do this.

-What?!

-What's with your legs?

-I can't reach my toes.

-You must stretch.

Have we done our 15 minutes yet?

With sales of over two million,

My System was endorsed by doctors and kings.

The Czech writer Franz Kafka swore by it, and fitness regimes today

owe much to his once radical ideas.

Right leg, left leg.

This is quite tiring.

And up, and down. Come on!

-NO! No more!

-Yeah!

Good job!

Kafka wrote really extraordinary stories.

He gave a word to the English language

for things that were really bizarre - Kafkaesque.

If you're ever asked if you saw something Kafkaesque, say yes.

Michael Portillo doing gymnastics!

On this new day,

I'll be embarking on a highly historic railway line,

which first opened in 1839.

My next stop is Leipzig, which my Bradshaw's tells me

is a town of great commercial importance.

It's the seat of the Supreme Law Courts of the German Empire

and its university is ancient and renowned.

And I'm travelling on tracks that

are pretty significant too, as this was the first major

long-distance railway made in Germany,

and it's almost as British as my Bradshaw's!

In the 19th century, the main industry in Saxony was textiles -

linen and woollen cloth.

Economist Friederich List,

seeing the great possibilities that the railways had offered

British industry, conceived in the 1830s

a railway unifying the states of Germany.

And who better to build it than British engineers?

Rail historian John Lace is an expert on the line.

-Hello, John.

-Hello, Michael. Good morning.

-Good to see you.

So this railway line from Dresden to Leipzig

plays a very important part in German railway history.

How did the railway actually come to be built?

The Leipzig directors approached James Walker, who then was President

of the Institute of Civil Engineers in London.

And he came across with his young assistant, James Hawkshaw,

who was 23, to survey the line between.

Walker took two weeks. At the end of it, he said,

"I've done all I need to do, there is more work for me back in Britain,"

and he left Hawkshaw to walk the route endlessly.

Engineers like Hawkshaw faced a huge challenge,

to get 116 kilometres of route just right.

I'd like to show you this map, actually,

which gives a really good overview of the entire line

and shows what John Hawkshaw had created.

It's a very detailed map and it shows every bridge

and every crossing, and all the cuttings there were

and the one tunnel that was built at Auber.

It's a relatively simple line.

It doesn't have a lot of ups and downs?

No. James Walker had been one of the developers of

the Leeds-Selby line, which is a very flat line,

and when he proposed this line, the directors were overjoyed.

To complement the British construction know-how,

the Leipzig Dresden Railway Company ordered 16 British locomotives.

Its first coal-powered steam engine was called Komet.

John Robson, who was a driver with

the Liverpool-Manchester railway line,

accompanied the first Komet from Bolton to Liverpool docks to Hamburg,

down the Elbe, 15 crates.

Robson was skilful enough to re-assemble those 15 crates

into a working locomotive.

An extraordinary thought. How fast was Komet in those early days?

Oh, between four and six miles per hour.

It didn't travel at the speed that this train is travelling now.

With Friedrich List's ambition fast becoming a reality,

the people of Saxony flocked to experience train travel.

There were up to six trains per day passing up and down

on the Leipzig to Dresden line.

Commercially, it was also a success,

finally giving businesses a quick way to move goods to the River Elbe.

Leipzig is a city made of music.

It was home to Johann Sebastian Bach and Felix Mendelssohn

and is famous for its Opera House and the St Thomas's Boys' Choir.

But as well as being a centre of culture, thanks to the railway,

it's also one of Germany's leading commercial cities.

The railway station in Leipzig, according to Bradshaw's,

is the largest in Europe, and it's still thought to be

the biggest in our continent by floor area.

With its 24 platforms and six railway sheds.

And now since the fall of Communism, vast parts of the station

have been converted to a shopping complex.

In 1913, Leipzig was at the heart of

one of the most productive areas in Europe.

Germany's late industrial revolution

meant that entrepreneurs could take full advantage of

new technology and manufacturing methods.

To appreciate how productive and self-confident

Germany had become,

I'm heading by tram to the west of the city, to the suburb of Plagwitz.

It's home to what was

one of the largest cotton spinning mills in Europe.

I've arranged to meet Bertram Schultze,

who runs the Spinnerei today.

-Hello, Bertram.

-Hello, very welcome.

We're walking along tracks.

Were the railways very important to the development of this place?

Actually, it was essential.

They bought this property of about 100,000 square metres,

because the developer over 100 years ago, whose name was Dr Karl Heiner,

had arranged that the tracks

were brought in to the big properties so that the goods

could come in, the raw materials, and the goods could go out again.

Well, they founded the place in 1884, based on this market research

that it would be profitable to create a big inner German

cotton spinning mill producing mainly the thicker threads.

It meant that the mill could spin the cotton itself,

rather than rely on foreign imports.

So a visitor coming here in 1913, using this guidebook,

would have found the factory in full production?

Yeah, full scale, very lively, I guess.

Working a three-shift system,

so going through all the time.

The Spinnerei's 1,600 workers

were processing 20,000 bales of cotton

into five million kilograms of thread.

Bertram wants to show me

what's left of just one of the huge spinning rooms,

where productivity reached unassailable levels.

This is the old elevator.

We just put in very new technique into it, so we should feel safe.

Wow, what a vast space!

This is where we still have the full scale 4,000 square metres

on one layer, where you can still have the feeling of

how it worked with the machinery in here.

So they had the machinery actually going in long lines like this

between the columns. And...

you must imagine a 20-metre machine and people working on it.

Now it is quite hot,

so with the machinery, it must have been hotter, so they had

a very early air conditioning and air moisturing system in here,

which was in the middle, where you can see the walls back there.

While the air conditioning

is testament to German engineering prowess,

the mill also illustrates what Germany regarded as

a great weakness - the lack of colonies.

As the imperial powers of Europe

scrambled to carve up Africa between them, Germany was late to the table,

securing only a few colonies in the south and west

and modern-day Tanzania in the east.

This paucity rankled the Kaiser,

who wanted new markets for goods and new sources of raw materials.

Germany was able to use the territory in Tanzania

to grow its own cotton.

Germany, yeah, but especially the cotton spinning mill.

I think Tanzania was used for different reasons as well,

but this company had their colonies down there, about 30,000 hectares,

so it was really quite a big space,

which they turned into farmland and tried to grow their own cotton.

Cotton growing conditions in Tanzania were hard. Pests put paid

to two-thirds of the harvest in the second year and the scheme failed.

Today, the cotton machines are long gone and in their place is art.

Historically, the most renowned artists of Leipzig were musicians.

On the second part of my journey through Germany,

I'll sample the surprising range of music

to emerge from Leipzig...

# Three little maids from school are we

# Pert as a schoolgirl well can be

# Filled to the brim with girlish glee

# Three little maids from school... #

..help to restore a century-old tunnel...

This might seem like a DIY job,

but this is to protect future generations from lead poisoning.

..and leave a minute reminder of my visit

to the world's greatest model railway.

Does my Bradshaw look big in this?!